English department employee, and part time writer, Jenn Dalton, finds a real life mystery to solve when a faculty member turns up dead on campus. Bringing into question many of those surrounding her; co-workers and even students are suspect in this quick moving mystery. Lovers of this genre will find themselves in a quaint, college town among books, libraries and literature. This cozy is quaint, but not simple. As a mystery writer herself, Jenn has to put into practice the sleuthing skills she’s only written about up until now. There is more than one mystery to solve in this story and just the right amount of romance for a cozy mystery. I look forward to future titles with this college campus setting and solid cast of characters. If you love the idea of spending a few hours immersed in libraries, college towns and mystery, pick up this book. Thank you Crooked Lane Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley.

The story grabbed my interest from the start. I enjoyed the characters and wanted to know the outcome of their relationships as well as the mystery. The story kept me turning the page and saying, one more chapter.
An enjoyable cozy mystery.

This was my first time reading anything by Victoria Gilbert, and it will not be my last. Schooled in Murder is an Academia Cozy Mystery.

Jen Dalton takes her job seriously, and she cares about the students who come in for help. So when one of those students is a suspect in a murder, Jen feels compelled to help. She just has to put herself into the mind of a character from her books. With the help of her friends, they embark on a thrilling journey to uncover the truth. Add in some close calls, her caring mentor/landlady, her loving cat, an enemies-to-lovers subplot, and you have a plot that will keep hooked. This becomes the perfect book to curl up and read on a cold night.

Thank you to NetGalley, Victoria Gilbert, and Crooked Lane Books for letting me read this ARC. This is my honest revie

The book begins with Jenn finding the victim. From there it begins a search to find who killed him. I enjoy the book. I like all the books written by the author. I would recommend this book.

I enjoy mysteries with a university setting and Schooled for Murder was perfect! Jenn Dalton, a mystery author, is working at Clarion University, in the writing program, mentoring students. Suddenly, she finds herself in the same situation as the characters of her mysteries do - solving a murder.

The mystery was fast-paced and the description of the university's lovely campus set a cozy background for the book..

I look forward to reading more of the Campus Sleuth mysteries!

I received an ARC from Net Galley and the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book is the first in a new cozy mystery series, "A Campus Sleuth Mystery." Jen is a successful writer of mystery books and a writing instructor in a college in Virginia. She discovers the body of an English professor in the library, and when one of her students is suspected of foul play, she gets involved in the investigation. Her knowledge of murder that she uses in her writing comes in handy as she looks into the library murder, and then into another suspicious death. This is an interesting new series that shows promise for the future. Jen is a strong, likeable character who appears capable and knowledgeable. Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing an ARC.

I seriously don’t think Mrs. Victoria Gilbert could write a bad cozy mystery even if she tried to. I really enjoyed this book, even though Jen is not your typical whimsy sleuth, she really grows on you, because she is aware of the consequences that could happen when you try to do the Investigators work. I absolutely loved that we got a little group of awesome college faculty working together to protect and defend a student whom they all respect and like and believe in her innocence. I love that we get more out of the murder mystery! (Won’t say what because #nospoilershere haha). I also enjoyed what seemed to be a good “enemies to lovers” trope in this one, the romance did not take away from this murder mystery, it was brought in just at the right moment! Highly recommend!!

Overall this a good sleuth cozy mystery. It’s not an obvious ending - there were many suspects which made it fun and interesting.

This is a fast paced story which I personally prefer however In terms of the character development it felt too fast; and I do wish we got to know them more.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher Crooked Lane Books for this early advanced copy!

"Schooled in Murder (Campus Sleuth Mysteries #1)" by Victoria Gilbert is the first book in a new cozy mystery series focused on Jennifer Dalton. She is a fairly successful mystery writer who also works mentoring students in writing. While at the library she comes across what appears to be a fall victim. Turns out he was pushed.

Jen gets involved in solving the crime because a student she doesn't think could have committed the crime is being set up to take the fall. I really didn't have a good idea on who the committed the crimes until almost the reveal.

Schooled In Murder by Victoria Gilbert follows our leading lady, Jenn, who works at a university writing center. The story revolved around the death of Professor Doug Barth in the beginning of the story, and one of Jenn’s students is the prime suspect. The book follows Jenn and her ragtag crew of amateur sleuths who are on the case.

While I was really looking forward to reading this book, as I have been starting my foray into cozy fantasies and mysteries, I was a little let down. For about the first 60% of the book, I wasn’t feeling the plot and was very bored. I felt like none of the characters had a distinct personality, and they all had the same flat voice. In addition to that, the plot was moving at such a slow pace that it was hard to stay engaged when nothing was going on. There was a twist about 60% into the book that I enjoyed, and I finished the book having a good time. But at the same time, I believe the new plot element was extremely rushed despite it being fun.

I would say this story is a solid 2.5 stars, it wasn’t that great but it had some redeemable qualities that, as flawed as they were, I still enjoyed nonetheless. The story is just below average with characters that are lacking, so I would say this falls into the realm of decent books, but definitely not a book that I would recommend to people just starting out in the genre who want a little more to sink their teeth into.

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The first in a new series, Jen, who works at Clarion University in the writing center, stumbles upon a dead body. It is determined it was an unpopular, rude, English teacher. Rumors swirl as to who may have pushed him, with the focus on one student. Jen sets out to prove the girls innocence, along with her co-workers and friends. There is a second murder, and I will say, when it was revealed at the end how/why he was killed, it felt rushed. Maybe one murder would have sufficed? The story was a bit hard to get into, the main character was just sort of there as the main character, which was surprising to me, as I like the Blue Ridge Library series by Ms Gilbert. There are a few mentions of characters from that series, which was nice. In the end, I liked the story enough to be looking forward to trying the next one, to see if it flows better. 2.5 stars, maybe 3.
Thanks to NetGalley, Ms Gilbert, and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a long time fan of Victoria Gilbert, particularly of her Blue Ridge Library Mysteries and the Booklover's B&B Mysteries, so to say I was excited for this one was understatement. Unfortunately, this one wasn't a win for me. I had a very hard time connecting with the main character Jen, whose reason for investigating really wasn't all that compelling. She freely admits in the book that she just likes to meddle. I also had a hard time connecting with any of the side characters on the investigative team, including the love interest who just seemed unlikeable and mean to me.

On the plus side, I did like that she works in the writing center and is a mystery writer which explains some of her curiosity and thinking process and I absolutely loved that characters from Gilbert's other series made cameos. I also thought that the mystery was decently thought out with multiple suspects. Although I did find the ending a bit too difficult to believe since it seemed implausible on such a small campus (you'll see what I mean).

Overall, this was a solid 2.5 stars for me rounded up to 3. I really wanted to love it, but just couldn't connect with the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and the the publisher Crooked Lane Books for this early advanced copy!

Jenn Dalton is on the English faculty at a small college in Virginia. She is also a successful mystery writer with a series to her credit. The author notes that Jenn is tall and not the usual petite young gal
The story line revolves the deaths of two people. The first dead man is on the English faculty and not well liked. When one of Jenn's students is a strong suspect, Jenn and her cronies set out to reveal the killer. The author does a great job of introducing characters that interact at the college. We meet the provost, the cafeteria cook,, Jenn's teaching mates, and a love interest, Zack. Jenn takes center stage as she solves the crime just as she would if writing one of her mysteries. Thanks to Net Galley for the arc.

This is the start of a new series from an established author. A very enjoyable cosy crime. The main character, Jenn, is a creative writing director and author. Once a murder has been committed she and a group of friends follow leads to ensure the right person is convicted. With an action packed plot and a love interest along the way this is a fast paced story which will keep you gripped to the end.

3.75 ⭐

A nice mystery with a touch of romance.

Like any good mystery, there are a bunch of characters (Jennifer Dalton as the narrator and the main character of the story). They are well written.
The premise is simple and executed quite well.

Short chapters make for an easy reading.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this ARC in return for an honest review.

This was a cute, cozy mystery that was entertaining and fun. I enjoyed the plot and the characters, and found myself reading it when I had downtime. Jenn Dalton, a writer who works at a university, ends up investigating a murder in the hopes of proving the innocence of a student she had helped in the writing centre. There were a few twists and turns in this book, but overall it felt as though the villains in this book had very clear motives and there wasn't a lot of mystery surrounding that. Even though I felt as though I had it figured out what was going to happen, I enjoyed the story very much, I am looking forward to reading more books in the series!

I found it surprisingly hard to put this book down. I'm a big fan of cozy mysteries. The writing was engaging and funny, especially as an outsider looking into the hilariously dense main character who practically needs to be smacked in the face to flirt with her. Her hyper-focus on who done it is relatable to anyone who can't stop thinking about any problem. I'll definitely be looking out for this to recommend to my customers.

This was an exciting start to a new series by Ms. Gilbert. I was great having the characters from the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series appear in this book.

My first book by this author and a first book in a new series. Jen Dalton is a successful mystery author and head of the writing clinic at Clarion University. The book begins with Jen finding a dead body at the library on a floor that is not frequented by many people. The body is of a professor who it seemed o body really liked and was also kind of a bully to Jen. She does not be come the suspect, but one of her students who has a very promising career is. Jen feels like it her duty to help clear her name since she’s done so much research for her mystery books she writes. With the help of a couple friends from her department and someone that works in the cafeteria, they go about gathering clues and interviewing the potential suspects. She is also introduced to a psychologist recommended by the Provost to help with any mental issues from finding the dead body. They do not hit it off at the beginning at all, but their constant bickering turns to something more by the end of the book, which was hard for me to believe honestly. The barbs that were thrown between the two was believable so much I didn’t believe the romance toward the end. The sleuthing gets Jen in to a couple situations but everything is solved by the end. A good solid mystery book that keeps you on your toes, I did not see the culprit until the very end. Good start to a series, if given a choice I would pick up the next book in the series.

This was a fun story to read. I didn’t see the ending coming. I’m looking forward to more in this series! I enjoyed this book and look forward to the next adventures of Jenn, Zach and her friends.